Bilingualism and Deaf Education Seminar

By Ana Kristina Arce

A Bilingualism and Deaf Education seminar was held in the DLS-CSB Auditorium last November 20, 2008 during the celebration of the Deaf Festival week. Mr. Raphael Domingo, a 3rd year student of the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies, Vice-President of the Benildean Deaf Association, a deaf student organization in DLS-CSB, former President of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf and a member of the management committee of the World Federation for the Deaf-Asia Pacific, conducted the lecture.

Deaf participants and hearing teachers attended from Manila High School, Caloocan High School and School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies. Hearing students also attended the lecture as part of their ORDEV (Orientation Development of Values) class.

Bilingual is used to describe a person who uses two or more languages. For the Deaf, bilingual means that they use two forms of language to communicate: sign language and written English. When communicating with the hearing community, the Deaf use written English. With their fellow Deaf peers, medium of communication is sign language.

According to Raphael Domingo’s lecture, the Department of Education has two documents since 1997: Policies and Guidelines for Special Education from SPED Division and the handbook of Special Education from SPED Division. The first anchors Philippine deaf education on the philosophy of Total Communication and states “the medium of instruction should be Filipino Sign Language”. The second document recommends the use of Total Communication as “most advisable for … teaching the hearing impaired starting in grade three with English as medium of instruction.”

However, guidelines on bilingualism are still unclear. In the private and public schools, hearing teachers of the Deaf are not aware about Deaf needs. “There is one reason: most of the hearing teachers of the Deaf have learned FSL as a third or fourth language because they usually are used simultaneously with signed English”, Raphael Domingo explained.

Raphy Domingo shared his experience in the World Federation of the Deaf conference in Sweden last August. Swedish Asa Helmersson presented about the teaching of Deaf children: reading and writing. According to Asa Hemersson, about 50 % of the deaf students in Sweden reach a level of Swedish language equivalent to hearing students of the same age. How will they accomplish their literacy? Good education for Deaf children requires the following: easily accessible Deaf child’s language, the families’ and Deaf child’s spare time, preschool, teachers’ knowledge about sign language and quiet language (written form) of Deaf children. Language should be strengthened to develop Deaf child’s esteem and Deaf children’s range of potientals through sign language. An interesting fact in Sweden is that their government requires hearing parents, who gave birth to deaf child/children, to be on leave from work for a period of six months with pay to be able to learn sign language.

It is recommended that parents, who gave birth to Deaf children, send their deaf children to pre-school as early as they can for the deaf to learn their natural sign language. In Sweden, Raphy was pleasantly surprised when he conversed with Swedish Deaf children who were as intelligent as adults, which is proof that their guidelines and policies on language are effective.

The Department of Education in the Philippines should also develop Deaf teachers who can serve as role models for young Deaf children and can provide comprehensible input during classes. DepEd should review policies and guidelines and streamline policy practice for clarification. Filipino sign language should be used to teach Deaf children in classrooms for the development of Deaf literacy. The bilingual-bicultural model supports Deaf literacy development. These recommendations are from Ms. Rosalinda Ricasa during her lecture at the Bilingualism and Literacy Seminar in 2005.

According to Ms. Rosalinda Ricasa, if Filipino Sign Language supports the structure to English, Deaf students will be fluent in English. Otherwise, they will not develop in English.

As a Deaf student on my 4th year in college, I support the abovementioned recommendations because I have also experienced problems with Deaf literacy since I was a child. Hearing teachers of the Deaf should be trained on teaching methods appropriate for Deaf children. The natural sign language of the Deaf should be used in teaching the Deaf. Being fluent in Filipino Sign Language, the Deaf children are able to develop their literacy skills if learning is facilitated through their natural language.